Monday, April 24, 2006

Tim II went to his first prom on Friday night. They had about 180 homeschoolers attend. Prom talk started about 6 months ago and I wasn't sure what to expect. One minute he was going and one minute he wasn't going. The kids from his co-op are a great bunch of friends. It just made sense that they would all go together as a group. We have two great moms - Mazie and Susie that pulled this all together. They did a few car washes to cover half of their tickets and some of the cost of a limo. We got the tux. We were finally ready for him to go. I thought about it a lot the week leading up to him going. I so hoped he would have a good time, but you just never know. I remember Tim and I going to a dance in our freshman year. It was okay, but not a grand time my any means. I am happy we have the pictures from it because we were so young. I called Tim II at midnight to see if they were heading to Perkins to eat. I was going to meet the other moms that chaperoned. I asked him if he had a good time. I was holding my breath... I so wanted him to have a good time. The next thing I heard was, "Mom, we had SO MUCH FUN! It was so great! We danced our booties off! You could feel the floor rocking!" YES! That is what I wanted to hear! I was so happy! God is Good!

I took these pictures of Sebastian at Grandma's house. The Easter Bunny always hides eggs all around Grandma's yard. This was his first time looking for them! He had a blast! Actually, I think he preferred pulling the grass up to actually finding eggs. He did wear himself out and got quite grumpy after that!Don't you love the hair? Can you tell he just woke up? I still made him play HOT or COLD to find his basket! He always thinks he will find it without my help, but he never does! That is my mom and my sister sitting by him. Here is little Miss Savannah with her Pony Basket. She found 3 little ponies with lots of hair decorations and stickers. She was very happy! I think the Easter Bunny had her stumped on where to look this time. She was EXTREMELY HOT, but still couldn't seem to locate the basket! She was really surprised to find it in the dryer.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

There were several times last week that I wanted to write something, but never got to it. I am sure I am going to find that happens a lot. I guess I will do my best to recap some key events and add some pictures that I took along the way. One of the days, last week, we went to an American Girl event at the library. This was my 3rd time trying to get us to one and I finally made it. I did have to skip my doctor's appointment for my foot, but sooner or later it has to heal, right? We went with two of Savannah's friends so that made it even more fun! They focused on the newest American Girl named Jess. She is a homeschooled girl that is living in Belize. Her parents are on an archeological dig. The library did crafts, games, and food for the girls. It was really nice and I hope we get to do another one again soon.

This isn't very exciting, but someday I will look back on it and laugh... we have some type of curse on our mini-blinds. Timmy broke some of his, I broke some, the dog ruined some others and THEN came Sebastian!!! I subscribe to the theory that you do not have to remove a child from his bed the moment he wakes from a nap. If he is happy playing in his bed, he can stay awhile longer. This theory has usually proved to be a good thing for Sebastian, but occassionally he comes up with bad ideas while he is "playing" in his bed. Here is the evidence. Oh, and yes, I do make sure the cords are up and away from him so he doesn't decide to hang himself! I guess we could move all the room around and put his bed away from the window, but I really am not up for all that work! So, for right now, I just pull them up to where he can't reach them. The problem is he keeps growing and can reach farther and farther! One day when he has children... I will be able to show him these pictures and just LAUGH!!!

This is not particularly interesting either, but again, my kids sure are cute... Savannah and Sebastian were filling the soda drawer for daddy. Sebastian decided that he rather liked the fridge and decided he would just take a seat and stay awhile!

Well, Savannah has decided she wants to be proactive when it comes to my blogging. She has taken it upon herself to set up poses that she deems "cute". Then she screams from across the house, "MOM, COME LOOK HOW CUTE WE ARE!!! DON'T YOU WANT TO PUT THIS ON YOUR BLOG???" At first I was a bit annoyed, but then I realized that I did think they were too cute and I did indeed want to put them on my blog! I knew that girl was smart!

I am betting that only a few people know that I LOVED Bon Jovi when I was a teenager. (Hi Jorge... I hope you are reading this!) Me and my friend, Jorge (short for Jorgena) spent our teen years lusting over Bon Jovi videos and posters. Well, we grew up and most of my thoughts of Bon Jovi went out the window. Until recently... my father-in-law had his half brother come to town. His half brother got him tickets to Bon Jovi. Okay, my father-in-law has NO INTEREST in Bon Jovi. There I am with about the worst stinking cold I have ever had in my life and my husband comes home to tell me that his dad is going to see Bon Jovi in concert. I could have cried except that I had lost my voice and nobody would hear me anyway. That was about 6 weeks ago or maybe 8 weeks ago, who knows... A little while ago. Then this past week I was watching CMT and saw this video. See, I started listening to country music about 11 years ago (much to many people's dismay!) There it is... Bon Jovi singing with a country girl and HEY... I actually like the song! That made me think about being 15 again and hanging out with Jorge and how I bought her a poster for her birthday one year. This isn't the poster I bought, but she had this one. I also remembered how Tim hated my pin on my jean jacket. I wonder whatever happened to that jacket and pin. Hmmm... I loved that jacket and pin. Who says you can't go home??? So join me for a new song from Bon Jovi and a blast back to those great times of my teens.

Friday, April 14, 2006

So, this morning I woke up to find a beautiful card in my favorite place to wake up... in front of my computer! Okay, I knew he was drawing something. He is great at drawing, but usually it is aliens, monsters, and creepy things. I have asked him if he was capable of nice things. I was pretty sure this is what sent him to the library. He has lots of drawing books, but again - they are not your very pretty type of drawing books! So, here is my card. It is SIMPLE and it made me CRY! It is SWEET and the BEST PRESENT I could have gotten today. In case you can't read the picture - it says,

It's Not Big

It's Not Grand

It's Not Amazing

It's Just Me & My Love For You

Love Tim Timmy Savannah Sebastian

P.S. Happy Birthday

Did I mention that I really love my husband! Savannah soon saw that I had a card from him. I don't know... maybe it was the crying crazy woman that gave it away? She had to go get her card too! She made me a beautiful picture and used my favorite color to write the words! It is a HAPPY BIRTHDAY indeed!

Well, today is my birthday and in case you are really, really wondering it is my 34th birthday! It just so happens that my birthday is Good Friday, so I didn't have to go to work today. Usually, I go to work on Monday and Friday morning. I lucked out on that one. My birthday has me pondering my life. On my 30th birthday, I vowed to lose weight. I did that again on my 31st, 32nd (okay, not my 32nd cuz I was pregnant)and my 33rd. I guess I will keep the vow, but I am beginning to think that this is what 3 kids has handed me! So, hmmm... today is my birthday. It makes me think of the NOGGIN song that they play at the end of each NOGGIN day. www.noggin.com/shows/movemusic.php You can check this wonderful song out at this link! I have been singing it for weeks and then I tell the kids - well it is NOT my birthday YET! Maybe I need to step away from NOGGIN! Well, on my birthday, I am thinking about how good things are. I have a wonderful family, I have a great job that allows me to homeschool, I live in a nice house, I have a little money in the bank, I am in good health (except for the pesky foot thing), I have friends and my list could go on and on. ((Knocking on good here!!!)) God has certainly blessed me. I pretty much like who I am at this moment - except that darn weight thing! So, tonight, my family is coming over for Chinese food and brownies with ice cream. It should be fun... you can't go wrong with take out and brownies, now can you? My mom is treating us - she is great! I guess I should thank her for having me or we all wouldn't have this wonderful opportunity to pig out! I will post more after my "party".Well...Today is your birthdayWe're so glad you came alongToday is your birthday,So we're singing you this songOne year olderOne year biggerWow, you've really grown a lot!One year olderOne year smarterThere's no telling when you'll stop!Today is your birthdayWe're so glad you came alongToday is your birthday,And we're singing you this song

Thursday, April 13, 2006

When Tim came home tonight, he told me he had to take Savannah to the library to work on an art project. I asked, "What art project?" He asked me, "Do you NEED to know EVERYTHING???" Why, YES, I do! I am the person who is supposed to know what every family member is doing at every single moment, aren't I? I really thought that was in my job description! Apparently, I was wrong... at least I am wrong when it is the night before my birthday! After a gourmet dinner of fish sticks - Tim and Savannah were off to the library. I did notice they took a sketch pad, the important box of colored pencils and some cardstock. Hmmmm... Very peculiar... what could be their mission? They returned about an hour and a half later. They snuck in the front door and right in to the garage/rec room. Not a word to me - straight to the garage. Savannah appear out of nowhere in search of white-out (what a wonderful invention). Then she disappeared just as quickly. About another hour and a half passed by when they both finally emerged from the room. I tried to get a hint of what it was from Tim - NADA! ZIP! ZILCH! He was not going to budge. Then he retreated to his trusty porch swing. AHA! Now, I could interrogate the girl! I tried bribing her with chocolate! I tried threatening her with chores and schoolwork! NOPE! NO WAY! NO HOW! I finally gave in and let the poor child go off to bed. Alas... I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow to know what the secret mission was!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

I took a couple of the videos off because I had heard that it my slow up the loading of the site. So, I will post some and then remove them to add new. I know how much I hate waiting for a site to load! LOL!

Last night or should I say early morning, I finished the last of the LETTERS! What are these letters, you ask? This is a dangerous question that leads to a very long story. I haven't posted about this on my blog as of yet, but we put a bid in on 5.19 acres in SC. We asked repeatedly if there were any restrictions for building on the land. My realtor kept saying no way - no restrictions! I knew in my heart this was not true and I found out a couple days before closing that sure enough there were restrictions. That left us with the dilemma of what to do. Do we petion the neighbors to change the restrictions or do we think that God may just have other plans for us? After a few too many "who's on first" conversations with Tim, we decided to pursue changing the restriction. That is how I ended up in Letter Mahem! Basically, we found out that we needed to get 2/3 of the land owners to sign off. There are 22 including our lot of land. I need 14 more signatures. We could make the 9 hour drive up there to knock on doors personally, but we aren't really ready to do that yet. Not that I wouldn't like to actually SEE the land we are buying, but right now is not the right time to head up. I wrote very nice letters explaining that we would just like to build a house for us, add a manufactured home for my mom and sis and leave the single wide mobile home for our oldest son. If you are inclined to pray that at least 14 of these people would just sign the letter and pop in in the SASE envelope... I would be ever so grateful! As for us, we have no idea if we will ever even move to this land. We are looking for direction and just think that a land purchase is an investment either way. I will post pictures of this said land soon.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

You know I used to be able to get Sebastian to eat banana baby food. Then one day I tried real bananas chopped up. He ate them and seemed to like then. Then, just as quickly he wouldn't eat bananas anymore. I stopped giving them to him because he would smash them and make a huge mess. Recently, I noticed if I was eating a banana he would want to eat it. He would eat a piece as long as I broke it off and gave it to him. I tried slicing it and putting him in his chair with one. Nope! He wasn't eating it. Friday night, I was making pizza bread. I was browning hamburger meat. He likes for me to hold him when I cook. Who knows... maybe he is a chef in training. So, I am holding him and I give him a piece of the hamburger. He eats it and appears to love it. Now, normally, he will not eat any type of hamburger. Not served anyway, but he will eat it if I am holding him at the stove? What makes this kid tick? I feel like I am trying to crack a secret code with him. That brings me to the banana story again. Tonight it dawned on me that I had never given him a whole banana to eat. You know, just peeled, but not chopped up. I thought just maybe I should try it. Worst case... I have to clean up mashed banana yet one more time in my life. Well, it worked! He ate the banana! He even laughed because he was getting the whole banana! Yes, I really may be one step closer to understanding the complex mind of an 18 month old! Can you tell I am waiting for Tim to come home...my quiet time was nice... but I think I am ready for it to be over!

Last video for the day (I think!). I couldn't find an actual music video of this song, but I found this. I really, really like this song and despite my lack of singing talent... I love to sing it really loud! LOL! Thankfully, only my poor dear children are subjected to my off key singing!

We have had a pretty good weekend so far. The teens had a car wash on Saturday to try to raise money for a limo for prom. I went to offer help as best I could with my foot gear. We didn't have many cars due to the rain predictions. I still really enjoyed watching the kids have fun. We left there and all the kids wanted to go back to jump on a trampoline at one of their houses. I had told Tim I would be back by 5pm. He was watching Sebastian. I stopped by the house and he told me to go over and have some "girl time" with the other mom's. He kept Sebastian with him and I took Savannah with me to play. I know this sounds like a really simple thing, but I had such a nice time. We just sat around the table and talked for a couple hours. The kids were outside having a blast and I didn't have to chase Sebastian from one thing to the next. It was just what I needed after a really busy week. Then Tim called me and told me he had his mom coming over to sit with the kids after we put them in bed. That way we could run to SuperWalmart alone! Another great restful break! Today, Tim is going fishing with his dad, Savannah ran down to Grandma's, Tim II is out with his friends, Sebastian is napping. I just put a pot of homemade chicken soup on for dinner and that is the biggest plan I have for the day. Maybe a nap or maybe I will catch up on some of my shows I have on the dvr. I guess this has not been the most exciting weekend, but it sure has been nice.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

You may or may not have heard that something has been wrong with my foot. I think maybe it has been 6 weeks or so, but honestly I have no idea when it happened. I have been hobbling around for awhile though. At first, I thought it was my sandals. I had gotten them out after not wearing them during "winter". I threw them away because I thought they were the problem! Turns out I threw away perfectly good sandals! After many weeks of trying to convince myself my foot didn't hurt, I gave in and went to the doctor. He x-rayed it and then he did an ultrasound on my foot! That was a new one for me. His conclusion was that I had a stress fracture. He asked me if I dropped anything on my foot. Nope. He asked me if I had hit my foot on anything. Nope. Then it occurred to me that I very distinctly remember being on the phone with my mom about a month ago. I was making dinner and Sebastian came in the kitchen. He wanted something on the counter and he proceeded to tip toe on my foot. He was digging his little toes in between my 1st and 2nd toe bone or whatever you call it. I remember telling him OUCH! That hurts momma! It really stung quite a bit. He did it again, before I was like YEOW, get off my foot! I asked the doctor if that could have caused it and he said that seemed like a really good explanation. Who knew that a toddler could fracture your foot by being curious and into everything? I have to say I was quite relieved that this was the problem. I had been reading online about all sorts cysts and things. They involved needles and I really don't like needles. My next question for the doctor was how do we fix this. First he said I needed to stay off of it for awhile. Exactly the opposite of what I had been doing. I had been trying to walk 2 miles a day and exercise. I am a little bummed because I have been doing so good. Next he wrapped it with a zinc wrap, cotton wrap and some other sticky wrap. Finally, I have a really ugly sock and an even uglier shoe! I can't get it wet and I can't take it off for a week. Showering should be fun! Oh and then there is a car wash we are doing on Saturday. I will be the funny lady with a bag and duct tape over her foot. I told you that my life it never boring! Maybe I should paint my toenails to go with my lovely shoe!

Monday, April 03, 2006

The two pictures in Timmy's birthday post are TIMMY. Sebastian and him look at awful lot alike, but those are Timmy. The older one is from his birthday party and the baby one was from when he was about 2 years old. His grandpa John took a whole bunch of pictures of him one day when he was little and that is one of them. I will post some comparison shots of Timmy and Sebastian soon.

I was thinking about what I would write in my blog all last month. March is always a busy month around our household. We have lots of birthdays and my nieces have spring break during this time. Tim II celebrated his 17th birthday at the beginning of March. I knew it was coming. We planned a pizza party for his friends. It was just around the corner and then it was HERE. My first baby turned 17. How could that be? Where did the time go? Wasn't I just 17 when he was my baby? I told my husband, Tim, that I was thinking that your child turning 17 seemed harder than accepting 18. I keep thinking that you spend a lot of years talking about raising your kids for 18 years. Not that you are really done raising them at 18. God knows my mom is still "raising" me at almost 34! But, you know what I mean... 18 seems to be that magical number every parent talks about. So, I always thought his 18th birthday would be the tough one. Obviously, I am not there yet, but it seems that 17 is the one that has got me. It means there is just one more year left till that big birthday. Just one year, 365 days. Where did the little boy that rode his little motorcycle all over the house go? Now he is driving his real car all over the county. It sure is a good thing that I have another little guy running around or I would probably be a blubbering idiot. There really is something to having kids in every decade! Back to Tim II's birthday festivities. We ordered LOTS of PIZZA - too much really. For the next several days, anytime anyone asked what there was to eat... my answer was the same - PIZZA! We also had lots of ice cream with lots of toppings. This idea always sticks with me because in grade school we had a room party where we got to make our own sundaes. I was fascinated with the whole idea of it. I think the teens enjoyed it as well. My son is 17, he is tall and strong and happy and healthy! I am a lucky mom!

Wow! I have been thinking about doing this for awhile. Then the last couple weeks of my life have been a little more insane than normal. My mom kept telling me how funny my life was. I found myself wanting to share some of the details with family, but not really enough time to figure out who would care! LOL! So, I am going to start this blog. If family and friends want to read, they can... if not... I am not filling their mailboxes with stuff they wonder why the heck I am sending to them. I am going to include a picture of my kids to start off my blog. Why??? Well, because they are what I surround my life around. They are who I am and where I begin. So, meet Tim II, Savannah and Sebastian. They are my 3 monkeys that keep my life oh so interesting! Tim II told me to come quick with the camera to capture this "Kodak moment" with the three of them.

About Me

I am hoping to come here to post updates on what is happening in our sometimes crazy household. We are homeschooling two of our kids... Savannah - 16 and Sebastian 10. Our oldest child - Tim II - is forever 21. He was serving in the Army when we lost him to a horrible car accident. I miss him every second of the day. I am not sure what our adventures will include, but they are sure to be interesting!